The present invention relates to postage metering machines and pertains particularly to an improved system for automating postage metering machines.
A great many semi-automatic postage metering machines are in use today for application of postage directly to letters or to tapes for application to packages. Such machines eliminate the necessity for obtaining a large inventory of postage stamps and individually selecting proper combination of stamps necessary for making up postage for a given package and applying them to the package. Such machines work quite satisfactory when a majority of letters or packages being posted require the same postage. This is because the machines approved by the U.S. Postage Service are designed to require manual selection of the postage required. Such machines are normally encased in such a manner as to prevent tampering with the controls thereof. Because of the strict control by the Postal Service it is not possible to automate such machines.
When such machines are utilized for the posting of a great many packages of varying size and of varying destination, a considerable number of errors can occur in the posting. The operator of the machine must individually select the required postage for each item. This requires a separate computation for each package. Although scales are available which automatically compute the applicable price associated with a given weight, this price must be specifically selected by the operator to be applied to the package. Errors made in the selection and application of postage to such packages can result in undue delay in delivery of packages due to under posting or frequent over payment of postage.
It is therefore desirable to have a system which is responsive to an automatic weighing and computing machine for automatically selecting the proper postage on lever type postage metering machine. It is desirable that such system be available which can operate the postage metering machine automatically without any modification thereto by following the natural motion of the ends of ends of the postage selecting levers.